SHOUT’s 30 Hour Famine raised enough money in 2011 to feed more than 100 hungry children.

Challenging economic times and all, the SHOUT youth shattered their fundraising goal of $34,000 by more than $2,800 with a total of $36,834.15 raised, a number multiplied by six through matching government grants.

“I am constantly amazed at the generosity that God inspires when our passions meet his pleasure,” Youth Director Sean Garner said after the tally was finalized. “SHOUT specifically targeted an amount of lives to impact through fundraising that was LESS than the last few years because our eyes were on the stock market NOT on God’s abundant supply.”

For 30 hours from Friday, March 4, to Saturday, March 5, Famine participants fasted but the fundraising lasted well before and after their time of “loving hungry.” Money was raised through sponsorships from individuals in the congregation and community, partnerships with Isaac’s Restaurant and Loxley’s Restaurant on Centerville Road and private donations.

This year’s Famine will be held Feb. 3-4. Fundraisers are being held at Isaac’s on Centerville Road Feb. 9, 16, 22 and 28.

Did you participate in last year’s Famine? What impact did it have on you?

By Darriel Davis

For both Dawn and me, helping to run the yard sale is always the annual highlight of our volunteering here at Hempfield UMC. There are so many ways to see God at work that it is truly overwhelming. There are the obvious ways, of course…the generosity of our congregation and friends with so many, many wonderful donations; the enthusiasm of the volunteers, both adult and youth, as everyone enjoys each others’ company throughout the week to make it all happen; the thrill of hearing the total profit and knowing that God has provided for our kids to go serve.

But inevitably, it is the quiet moments that are the most powerful, and there is no shortage of these, either…being able to tell a senior member who recently downsized that her treasured possessions are now at the home of a family in real need; hearing a woman thank us for helping her provide clothes for her family during these hard times; accepting an anonymous payment for a bike that was given to a person in need of transportation for work, but who could not afford it. This list could go on and on.

It is humbling to be part of an event where we all put the pieces in place and just let God work!

The 2011 Indoor Yard Sale raised $13,000 for youth mission trips. This year’s Indoor Yard Sale will be Saturday, March 17.

In what way did you see God work at last year’s Indoor Yard Sale? 

For more information on the 30 Hour Famine our middle school and high school students will be doing Feb. 3-4, visit shout.hempfieldumc.com/30-hour-famine

Photo by Jeff Ruppenthal, Sunday News

In case you haven’t already heard, the Hempfield High School field hockey team defeated local rivals Warwick 1-0 to win the Class AAA state championship on Saturday thanks to a Megan Bupp goal assisted by Rachel Cox.

SHOUT regulars Morgan Hilliard, Marissa Greiner and Melissa and Ashley Cox are also on the team, which finished their dream season with a 19-6-1 record.

“It’s unbelievable,” Morgan told Sunday News reporter Pete Kauffman. “This has been our dream. To win the final game of your high school field hockey career is amazing.”

A couple weeks ago, our high school youth went to Lake Grubb Nature Park in Mountville for the second Warrior Run. Here are some photos of the action.

I want to send to you my personal words of appreciation for sending Sean the the SHOUT crew to our church. They took on the “goliath” size of a project in painting the exterior of our church and our custodian’s home.

They did a fabulous, quality, amazing job! The church folks and the community folks around the church were amazed and so appreciative of all the hard work. The attitudes of the youth and leaders were positive and I never saw a lazy body the entire week. They even made the front page of the local section of the local newspaper!

I want to pass on to you as one pastor to another how impressed I have been with Sean’s leadership. He has been awesome to work with over the 3 month journey. He has been responsive and thorough in our communication and coordination of this project.

I trust you will really show the SHOUT crew great recognition and appreciation upon their return for the amazing job they did at Community UMC.

May God continue to guide you and enrich your ministry as you seek to build the kingdom of God one life at a time in Jesus.

Your brother in Jesus,
Pastor Ken Zimmerman

SHOUT is helping get Community UMC in Daytona Beach, Fla., (pictured above) up to code this week.

The SHOUT high school mission trip’s work helping a church in Dayton Beach, Fla., get back up to code has caught the attention of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, which published an article today about the group’s efforts.

With the exception of making youth director Sean Garner a reverend – something he’s already getting a hard time about – the article does a great job of capturing why a group of 50-plus youth would travel all the way from Pennsylvania in July to lend a helping hand.

“We’re doing something outrageous for God,” 16-year-old Sarah Parkins was quoted saying in the article. “We’re spreading the word. We’re kind of doing something for nothing. Our youth pastor said that’s not really common around here.”

Click HERE to read the rest of the article. Check out more photos of the youth in action in sunny Florida on the SHOUT Facebook page at facebook.com/shouthempfield.

Challenging economic times and all, the SHOUT youth shattered their fundraising goal of $34,000 by more than $2,800 with a total of $36,834.15 raised. With matching government grants, that number will be multiplied by six.

“I am constantly amazed at the generosity that God inspires when our passions meet his pleasure,” said Sean Garner, director of youth. “SHOUT specifically targeted an amount of lives to impact through fundraising that was LESS than the last few years because our eyes were on the stock market NOT on God’s abundant supply.”

For 30 hours from Friday, March 4, to Saturday, March 5, Famine participants fasted but the fundraising lasted well before and after their time of “loving hungry.” Money was raised through sponsorships from individuals in the congregation and community, partnerships with Isaac’s Restaurant and Loxley’s Restaurant on Centerville Road and private donations.

Erika Glass, a youth participant in the Famine, wrote in a previous blog post that participating in the Famine was an “eye-opening event.”

“It’s not difficult, as long as you have an open heart,” Glass wrote. “Giving up four quarters in exchange for saving a child’s life for a day? That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.”

Consistently one of the top fund-raisers in the country for the annual World Vision event, our youth have raised more than $250,000 for the Famine, single-handedly helping to put a dent in the number of the world’s hungry.

It seems impossible to us because we’ve grown up with such an abundance of food, but hunger and starvation is an overwhelming crisis that needs just as much attention as any other global issue. At the 30 Hour Famine, I got the opportunity to experience just a small portion of the hunger kids go through every day, while raising money to help feed the children that need it most.

Through multiple stations and informational discussions, I got to experience firsthand what it felt like to haul huge piles of bricks from one end of a room to another just like children in slavery are forced to do for hours every day without eating. I carried the weight of gallons of water for seven minutes to try to understand the difficulty of carrying it for miles just to have something to drink. Heartbreaking statistics and unbelievably sad facts showed me the reality of the situation; did you know that in some parts of Haiti the only substance people have to eat is dried mud?

There is something very wrong with the fact that thousands of innocent children die every day because they don’t have enough food when there is plenty of both food and money in the world to go around. That’s the other great part about the famine; it’s not only about becoming educated, it’s also about taking action.

In preparing for the event I raised money to directly feed hungry children through World Vision, and each dollar raised saves the life of a child for one day. Knowing that a simple thing I did will save living breathing children across the world makes me realize how important it is to be grateful for what you have and to give to those who need it.

The 30 Hour Famine was an eye opening experience that just goes to show that it doesn’t take much to make a huge difference. It’s not difficult, as long as you have an open heart. Giving up four quarters in exchange for saving a child’s life for a day? That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

The deadline for giving toward SHOUT’s 30 Hour Famine is this Sunday, March 6. You can give online by clicking HERE.

Dirt was flying as the kids dug holes for a chapel foundation in Cecil County, Md.

I had the chance to visit with our middle schoolers on their mission trip down in Cecil County, Md., on Thursday and had an absolute blast. In a short afternoon/early evening visit I was able to see the incredible display of teamwork needed to dig eight holes for the foundation of a new chapel for the Meeting Ground, the homeless outreach ministry they are working for this week.

I also saw the self-appointed goatkeeper of the trip, Eric, chase down a goat several times and return him to his pen, an endless supply of energy on display even after all of the digging was completed and some worn out adult chaperones.

I’m glad I had a chance to visit and see them in action as the hands and feet of Jesus in Cecil County. We surely are blessed as a congregation to have such a great group of young people.

Click HERE to see more of the photos I took during my visit.

By

The 120 youth and adults who fasted the second weekend in March and the hundreds of people from the congregation and community who donated to the cause helped SHOUT surpass their advantageous goal of $34,000 for the famine this year, a remarkable number considering the economic downturn and repeated news reports of how charitable giving is down. The final tally was $34,092.96.

“That $34,092.96 we raised for Famine is going to make a huge difference!,” said Grace Watson-Martin, one of the SHOUT participants. “Through World Vision, we’ll be able to feed 94 kids for a WHOLE YEAR! That’s 94 kids who aren’t going to die from something that’s 100 percent preventable. We are making a difference right this very second.”

The total collected – a figure that will be multiplied by 10 through matching government grants – puts Hempfield UMC in a rare company of churches around the nation and the world that consistently raise $30,000 or more for the Famine. But Watson-Martin pointed out that it’s more than just setting and meeting a large fundraising goal.

“Even if we can only feed one hungry child for a year, we’re still making a huge difference in their lives,” she said. “It’s an amazing feeling to know that through the money you raise and the hours you spend contributing in your service projects, you’re doing this for someone else and it’s going to make things a lot better for them.”

SHOUT director Jonathan Hobbs pointed out that the Famine is much more than just an annual youth event.

“It’s the church BEING the solution to a problem – not just talking about it,” he said. “I think that’s pretty amazing.”

Here’s the video recap of the SHOUT 30 Hour Famine held over the weekend. Donations are still be collected through April 11 so it’s not too late to give. The final Isaac’s Deli fundraiser is Thursday, March 18, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Centerville Rd. Isaac’s.

To see more photos from the Indoor Yard Sale, go to our Picasa page at http://picasaweb.google.com/hempfieldumc/IndoorYardSale2010

Don’t miss the HUGE Indoor Yard Sale tomorrow (Saturday), Feb. 27, from 8 a.m. to noon.

* Received this email from a mom in our congregation: ” I am writing to share some very exciting news with you!  My oldest daughter,  has been very touched by the devastation in Haiti.  She has been looking for a way in which she can help to make the lives of the people in Haiti better.  The Health Kits have helped her to focus her prayers and her energy on assisting others. She has shared her cause with neighbors, school friends and family. At this point she has collected 50 kits and has another week to go.  People have been very touched and the kits continue to flow in. We will be bringing them with us on Sunday Feb 7th.”

*A woman approached me on Sunday, saying that her daughter’s birthday party is on Friday, Feb 5. Her daughter has told her friends not to bring her any gifts. She only wants them to make and bring health kits instead!

* A teacher from the New School in Lancaster was given one of our flyers by a neighbor, and her entire 5 & 6 grade classes (45 students) are putting together health kits to be delivered on Friday, Feb 5.

Go God!

Our middle school group, X Factor, went to New York for a retreat called Breakaway earlier this month. Above is a video recap of the weekend.